Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-05-26

nal proceedings must be instituted. A
charge petit larceny was preferred,
and justice, proverblally blind, sus-
tanned the charge.
Thus the child became a criminal.
Let US now, without impugning the
Justice of the court or even calling in
question the wisdom of the law, place
ourselves in the relation to this child
that was once atoretime sustained by
a clamoring throng, that said the wo-
man is guilty and by the law of Moses
should be stoned to death.
This law and the judgment upon it
seemed to have the approval of the ap-
pellate court, the Great Teacher, who
came to fulfil, not to destroy, the law,
authorizing that he that was without
sin should cast the first stone.
Sentence against the sinful woman
was not executed.
How, think you, would it have
Jared with Ada, had the Probate court
of Hamilton county ordered those who
never violated the eighth command
ment to proceed to an execution of
law against that little girl?
Who would have been found that,
up to the age of l3 years, had never
appropriated to themselves something
belonging to others, or something they
had been forbidden to touch. 1t
might have been nothing more than a
raid upon the pantry, the door of
which was open and the goodies 1t
contained accessible to and actually
designed for the culprit. In an evil
moment the temptation came, the COM
mands of love were forgotten, the OPP
portunity occurred, observant eyes
were off. and so, with stealthy step,
consciously guilty purpose, and a
hurried, trembling hand, the offense
was committed, and not discovered
until the broken preserve jar or empty
cake or fruit basket revealed the
stealth.
The police were not called. Detect
ives were not put on the track of the
offender None were needed. The
discovery of the wrong senta pang
which, like cleaning poinard, flash
ed its light of pain before the point
had touched the parental heart. Then
came the arrangement, before which
the guilty dread was speechless. The
yearninp, anxious love of the parental
heart, not the broken jar or the des-
poiled basket was shown, the cruel
wrong was presented, and Gods holy
law transgressed' exposed the guilty
dread, followed by confession, with
penitential tears and promises, the
kiss of pardon, and the prayer of a
mother for guilty child, the outcry
of an anguished spirit, as though she
herself we're guilty, praying for for
giveness as we forgive
How often these incidents of child
life are recalled! How few there are
to whom they are not more or less ia
miliar as associated with the home-life
of early childhood The home where
law and love combined to teach re-
spectfuI obedience to parents and re-
verence for God.
When in after years we have grown
stronger than temptation, how trivial
these incidents appear Think for a
moment.
Is there ever, in the experience of
maturer life, day recalled so dark, a
sin so enormous, tempest of feeling
so wild and frightful, as when, within
the sacred precincts of home, and un-
der the caress of its love, we were laid
bare to the gentle reproof, the kindly
admonition. the faithful warning,
when the agonlzing sense of our
wrong was smoothed by the joy of
forgiveness, leaving in the heart,
never to be forgotten, the contrition
in which it is said the very angels re-
joice'2
II is doubtful if the human con-
science ever feels a deeper pang than
for the first offense. Surely no human
heart can know higher joy than the
forgiveness that follows its confession.
It Is in the soil thus broken by con
triton, thus watered with tears and
cultivated with the unwearyiug pa
tience of parental love, that the seeds
of substantial character are sown, and
the fruitage is a true manliness or wo-
manliness that challenges approval IN
whatever walk of life it may be found.
This character is the product of the
home. Not necessarily the brown
stone building, or other abode of wealth
and social position these conditions
happily do not preclude such develop
ment. But the home where parental
responsibility to God, to country and
to community is recognized, and where
parental authority is enforced by love.
Character is not the out-growth of
the school. Education is an import
ant factor. It is not the trained pro-
duct of the church, the value Of which
may not be overestimated. The school
and the church as supplementary to
the home must not be overlooked, but
Observation-Disclosures, God fearing,
man respecting, law observing charac-